Spring-bar for vehicles.



A. W. CURTIS.

SPRING BA R FOR VEHICLES. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28. 1913.

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Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

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Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Now. 16, 19115,,

Application fi1ed March 28; 1913. Serial No. 757,346.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, ALMON WV. CURTIS. of Cortland, in the county of Cortland, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Spring-Bars for Vehicles, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in spring bars for vehicles, adapted to be mounted upon the upper half of an elliptical spring for receiving the body supporting brackets and thereby supporting the body of the vehicle. I-Ieretofore, so far as I am aware, these bars have always been made of wood, such as hickory,iron-wood, or its equivalent, having closely knit tenacious fiber, but owing to the increasing scarcity of this class of wood and the fact that inferior grades of wood will not serve the purpose without increasing the size or bulk and thereby destroying the delicate symmetry and graceful lines which the trade demands, I have sought to provide a metallic substitute which will be more effective than the best grades of wood and may be made upon the same external lines as the original wood bars.

In other words, the main object is to provide an all metal, one-piece spring bar which is light, strong and durable and capable of being made to present the same external appearance as any of the usual wood bars now employed.

Another object is to provide the ends of the bar with means whereby the body sup porting brackets may be adjustably secured thereto for difierent widths of bodies.

A further object is to make the bar sub stantially U-shaped in cross section so as to form a lengthwise channel and opposite reinforcing ribs for receiving and concealing the nuts or bolt heads which may be employed in securing the body brackets and spring to the bar, the reinforcing ribs also serving to hold the nuts or bolts against turning. 7

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the bar will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings: Figure l is a front elevation of an elliptical spring and my improved cross bar mounted thereon, portions of the body brackets being also shown in operative position. Figs. 2 andv 3 are, respectively, an enlarged top plan and an inverted plan of the cross bar shown in Fig. 1. Fig; 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same bar. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are enlarged transverse sectional views, taken respectively on lines 5-5, 6-45 and 77, Fig. 1.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I have shown an elliptical spring l as mounted upon an underlying axle or other support -2 for receiving and supporting a cross bar 3-, by which the body (not shown) of the vehicle is supported, through the medium of body brackets 4. The bar -3 preferably consists of a single piece of wrought steel, U-shaped in cross section and forged, pressed or rolled to the desired form to produce a lengthwise channel 5+ andopposite lengthwise reinforcing ribs -6 running practically the entire length of the bar, except that suitable cross ribs are provided at predetermined intervals for purposes hereinafter described.

The upper portion of the main body of the bar is oval or convexed in cross section except at the extreme ends, which are ornamented with suitable scrolls to give the bar a more graceful and pleasing appearance, corresponding to the end scrolls of the usual wood bars. The upper side of the bar is disposed in a substantially straight,

horizontal line, longitudinally, the central portion of said bar being of greater vertical depth than the remaining portions of its ends, and of a width substantially equal to that of the adjacent portion of the spring to which it is secured and its lower side is concaved longitudinally, at 3, to conform to the curvature of the spring upon which it is seated, while the ends of the bar are tapered from the enlarged central portion toward their extremities.

As shown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 4., the upper faces and portions of the sides of the central portion of the bar are provided with transverse grooves or recesses 8 spaced equi-distant apart from the center of the bar for receiving clips 9, by which the bar is secured to the upper side of the spring, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6, said recesses and clips being of substantially the same width lengthwise of the bar to hold the clips and bar against relative endwise movement and at the same time allowing the upper portions and sides of the clips to be brought into closer coincidence with the corresponding faces of the having its lower edge substantially coincipreviously stated, the

spaced a distance apart, corresponding approximately to the'width of the spr1ng,'but areconnected at predetermined intervals by Itransverse ribs or webs -l, -11 and.

l2, the rib l0- being located midway between the ends or" the bar and dent with the center of the arch otthe concave seat 3, so as to form a central receiving the head of a bolt '1l-o, by which the leavesof the upper portion of the spring bearirigon the spring,an :l is provided ln-its under sidewith a recess 13-- for are sccured to each other. The transverse ribs or'webs ll are located equi-distant from and at opposite sides of the center rib at the ends of the concave seat 3,

so as to form additional bearings for the spring, the lower edges of said ribs 11 bein substantiall coincident with the )lane e: y l

of the ends of the concave seat. The ribs or webs 12are located at the termini of the bar but their lower edges are sub stantially coincident with the adjacent lower edges of the ribs 6- and are provided with recesses forming a part of the ornamental scroll 7.' It is now clear vthat aside from the transverse grooves or recesses 8-, an d scrolls 7, the 8X t'ernal surface of the bar is substantially is adapted to be used for supporting bodies smooth and unbroken, while the transverse ribs 10, ll and 12 lie wholly within and above the lowerredges of the adjacent portions of a lengthwise rib 6 and are, therefore, concealed from view, the

ribs 11 being locatediat the endsot the conca ve'seat, while the rib l0- is located midway between the ribs11-. This'bar of different widths and in order that the brackets l may be adjusted relatively to the bar to-conform to such different widths of body, the ends of said bar are provided with a series of apertures 1(3- arranged uniform distanccs from the center and, in sequence, from the ends oi the bar, for receiving clamping bolts, as -1T-, by which the upper ends of the brackets --iare firmly secured to said bar. These apertures -16 are disposed vertically and centrally through the upper curved side of the bar in alinement with the longitudinal center of the channel so as to enable. the nuts of the bolts to enter said channels and engage the ribs thereof, as shown more clearly in Fig. 7, thereby upholding the nuts against turning while the bolts are being tightened or loosened, the ribs serving to conceal the nuts from view when placed in operative position.

What I claim is:

A onepiece metal spring-bar having its upper face rounded in cross-section and its underside channeled longitudinally to form opposite lengthwise ribs, said bar having vertical apertures near its ends and its remaining portion imperforatc and provided with transverse ribs at opposite sides of and equi-distant from the center, the lower side of the bar having a concave seat tcrminating at the transverse ribs, and a central cross rib midway between said trans verse ribs, the upper side of the bar being provided with transverse recesses between the transverse ribs and central cross rib.

In witnesswhereof I have hereunto set -my hand this 26th day of March, 1913.

ALMON lV. CURTIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Y Washington, D. C. 

